San Marzano Tomatoes: The Fake Rolex of Canned Foods

Interesting. I haven’t been a fan of San Marzanos since I moved back from Italy 30 years ago. I like Pomi.

I’ve never been overly impressed with imported San Marzanos, D.O.C. or not, maybe this why.

I’ve bought Stanislaus and thought they were pretty good. It’s available through Sorrento’s in Los Angeles if you pre-order, but it only comes in 10x cans.

These are my favorite, they are less sweet than most canned tomatoes. I always stock up when I see them at a store.

Cool website, btw. I’m going to keep an eye out for Piennolo.

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Those are my go-to since Whole Foods started carrying them. Excellent flavor and texture.

Which are?

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Oops. Meant to reply to bookwich. I like the Bianco brand. For me they are more concentrated. They’re simultaneously sweeter and more acidic than the most of the other brands I used previously. It means I can cook the tomatoes less when making a sauce.

Pomi is a great brand, too. Very good tomato flavor.

Regular grocery store brand that I think is really underrated is actually Hunts. Don’t hesitate to get them if you’re in a pinch.

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I don’t know about Naples, but in Rome I don’t recall ever seeing anyone buy canned tomatoes. Everybody used passata di pomodoro, an unthickened purée with skins and seeds removed. I got in the habit of using that and kept doing it when I moved back to San Francisco. The Pomì brand that’s now readily available here is labeled “strained tomatoes.”

I have been using the Strianese brand tomatoes for years . Great taste, with the same price as a generic brand . Or if I am using tomato puree I like Mutti brand .

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This is the real deal stuff. Just ask Chris about them, and he will gladly buy you one of his famous pies and tell you all about them.

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California does grow awesome tomatoes . The FM tomatoes starting to come out will only get better . Or if you grow your own , the best :smile:

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I’ve never found a bottled passata di pomodoro I like. I make my own and freeze it. My food mill is one of my best kitchen investments ever.

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I am such a cave man . That I cook the tomatoes whole skin on . Turn the heat off .Then throw a bunch of basil whole in the pot . Remove the basil and spoon the tomatoes into a cheap ass kitchen sieve pressing it through with a spoon leaving the skins a and seeds behind . Molto bene .

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That works too! I throw chopped tomatoes into the blender, then sieve them to make gazpacho or regular tomato soup.

However, a food mill is great if you’re cooking down 10 lbs. of tomatoes to make a few quarts of sauce.

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So true! I was going to name my favorite FM vendors but they sell out too fast as it is so F(orget) that!

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Did this immediately after reading that article couple weeks back

otherwise it’s all about Muir Glen for me now… Been Cento for a decade

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Good info @frommtron. Thanks. I’ll look out for the DiNapoli you and @Bookwich prefer and do a taste test (once I start cooking again).

I’ve seen and passed up the Pomi in stores, but will try it next time.

Maybe it’s an East Coast thing, but in our house, for conventional grocery store tomato paste it would be Contadina, not Hunts :slightly_smiling_face:.

I prefer an “unthickened purée” too along with paste.

[quote=“robert, post:7, topic:5979”]
The Pomì brand that’s now readily available here is labeled “strained tomatoes.”
[/quote]What does that mean to you?

That would be me. I don’t like the clutter of too many appliances and doohickeys and always look to improvise with things I already have. Not that the food mill isn’t a great appliance @Bookwich :wink: it is.

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Do you ever get the tomato paste in a tube? I find it very convenient. I pick it up at Bay city’s where they have something like 4 brands to choose from as well as anchovy paste in a tube.

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Passata di pomodoro.